From Shanghai Express to The Rocky Horror Picture Show: A brief history of vintage movie posters with LGBTQ themes

The movie poster is a singularly unique cultural artefact, tasked with summing up the essence of an entire film in a single image – the very opposite, then, of a movie. Imagine the pressure involved in creating one!

1001 MOVIE POSTERS: Designs of the Times is a 640-page tome charting the evolution of the art form, from the colourful Parisian lithographs heralding the first public film screening by the Lumière brothers in 1896 to posters for recent blockbusters such as Parasite and Barbie.

Here, writing for Attitude, the book’s co-creator Tony Nourmand explains the backstories behind eight such posters with special LGBTQ significance.

Salomé (1922) American 

Art by Natacha Rambova and Eugene Gise 

Salomé was one of America’s first art films and is an important early work of queer cinema. Out as bisexual and insisting on a cast that included many gay and trans actors, Nazimova starred in, produced and co-directed the film, and also employed her purported lover, Natacha Rambova (1897-1966), as writer and art director. Rambova spent an outrageous $350,000 on Parisian, custom-made costumes based on Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations. Rambova also co-created the poster campaign in homage to Beardsley’s style and colour palette, albeit in a more censor-friendly approach than his original illustrations. 

Shanghai Express (1932) German 

Art by Boris Streimann-Namir (1908-1984) 

The early American risque pre-code film Shanghai Express (1932) is set on a train from Peking to Shanghai in the midst of China’s civil war. Marlene Dietrich plays the mysterious but unapologetic courtesan Shanghai Lily, who swings between her former lover Captain Donald “Doc” Harvey, played by Clive Brook, and fellow courtesan Hui Fei, played by Anna May Wong. Dietrich is sometimes referred to as early Hollywood’s “Joyous Bisexual”.

Glen or Glenda (1953) American

A semi-autobiographical docudrama about cross-dressing and transvestism directed by Ed Wood. It was widely considered one of the worst films ever made upon release. However, it has since been reevaluated and has become a cult film due to its low-budget production values, idiosyncratic style, and early cinematic themes of transgender acceptance. In 1994, Tim Burton chronicled the troubled production of Glen or Glenda in Ed Wood. 

I Was a Man (1967) American

A rare poster for a rare exploitation film from the 1960s about transgender identity.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) American 

1985 Release ‘Birthday Cake’ 1985 – Withdrawn

In 1985, Twentieth Century Fox released a special “Birthday Cake” poster to celebrate the tenth anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Unfortunately, the inclusion of Barbie and Ken dolls dressed as characters from the film was met with an unamused reaction by Barbie toy manufacturers Mattel, who allegedly sued and demanded the poster be withdrawn from circulation. 

Querelle (1982) German

Banned
Art by Andy Warhol (1928-1987) 

Warhol was commissioned to design the artwork for the German Querelle poster. It was rapidly banned and all copies ordered were destroyed. The image was reproduced at a later date by a German gallery in different colours and was also used on subsequent re-releases for the film. 

Dick Tracy (1990) American

“Madonna” Advance
Design by Johnny Kwan 

The risque tagline on this poster of Madonna as “Breathless Mahoney” somehow managed to slip through the censors.

Barbie (2023) American

IMAX
Design by BLT Communications 

Barbie features several out LGBTQ+ actors including Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp and Scott Evans. The film also features Hari Nef, a transgender actress, as Doctor Barbie. This poster, designed especially for IMAX screenings, is inspired by the opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey, which is also referred to as the dawn of “man” sequence.

1001 MOVIE POSTERS: Designs of the Times is out now on Reel Art Press.